Building construction



Nov. 8, 1932. H. LA ROCHE 1,886,962,

BUILDING CONSTRUCTION Filed Jan. 24, 1930 Sheets-Sheet 1 FIG. 1.

Nov. 8, 1932.

H. LA ROCHE 1,886,962

BUILDING CONSTRUCTION Filed Jan. 24, 1930 7 Sheets-Sheet I5 wafcafi,

Nov. 8, 1932. H. LA ROCHE BUILDING CONSTRUCTION Filed Jan. 24, 1930 7 Sheets-Sheet 4 Nov, 8, 1932. H. LA ROCHE BUILDING CONSTRUCTION Filed Jan. 24, 1930 TShets-Shet 5 H. LA ROCHE BUILDING consmvcnon Filed Jan. 24,

New. 8, 1932.

1930 7 Sheets-Sheet 7 Patented Nov. 8, 1932 7 1,886,962

UNITED STATES PATENT orrlca HEINRICH LA. ROCHE, O1 ZOLLIKE'BBERG, SWITZERLAND BUILDING CONSTRUCTION Application filed. January 24, 1980, Serial No. 428,145, and in Germany February 2, 1929.

The present invention relates to the conthat buildings of many stories could not be struction of fabricated or ready made builderectedaccording to such systems. The as ings and has for its object to render possible sembly of the parts was often complicated the economical production of the constituent and many operations such as lasterin layparts of a building down to the last detail ing of floors and the like ha to be e ected in the factory, so that the building may be at the site instead of in the factory. erected on a site in 'a minimum of time. B the present invention it is possible to In the accompanying drawings Figs. 1 and use in the greatest ossible variety of ways 2 are perspective vlews of the improved steel a small number 0 portable standardized .0 frame, skeleton building units. Fig. 3 is a building elements or units, the materials? ers ctive view showing how the improved bein chosen to answer requirements, ecobuil ing units may be assembled in forming nomical from the point of view of construo-' several stories of a building. Figs. 3a an tion, weight and suitability for transport, 3b show partially assembled building orand correct from the point of view of structions. Figs. 3c, 3d and 30 show plans 0 the tural and insulationrequirements. a

several units. Fig. 4; is a perspective view The present invention comprises a system 3 showing the parts of a frame unit detached of construction rendering possible the assemfrom each other. Fig. 5 also shows unit membly of standard fabricated units and erection bers detached from each other. Fi 6 shows, of houses and other buildings of any desired in perspective, an upper corner loo ing from size and height in minimum time and in the 7 below. Fi 7 shows, in perspective, an outer simplest manner, and also the easy enlar ewall and t e corridor of a building embodyment of such buildings and the easy ising the present invention as the same would assembling thereof.

appear during erection. Fig. 8 shows, in Each unit comprises a rectangular steel perspective, a portion of a building embodyframe. On assem ling the units these steel mg the present invention and fitted with frames constitute the skeleton work of the Stairways. Fig. 9 is a diagrammatic view,'in building. The frames are filled with the perspective, of a system for the production of lightest material capable of withstanding the buildings suitable for dwellings of different weather and suitable for thermal insulation 'kinds or sizes. purposes. Maximum economy in buildin In fabricated buildings as heretofore manmaterial is thus realized and saving is e ufactured the constituent parts were not enfected in space and weight and transport extirely suitable. In the first place the conpenses.

stituen-t parts were not standardized accord- To permit simple and rapid erection each '35 ing to a simple system such that dwellings unit is provided at all four corners of the of different types and sizes suitable for occumain members of its steel frame with aperpants having different requirements could be tured lugs a, b, c, e, f, g, which interenbuilt therewith. Further, in certain cases the gage one another at abutting corners of the constituent parts were not made of suitable elements where connection is made by a tiematerial, in respect that the selection of mabolt when a number of the members of the teri'ail was based on the capacity of the facframes are brought together edge to edge. tory; for example, said parts were made en- The building is held against lateral pressure tirely of steel, wood, or concrete. It folby acorridor structure extendingthrough the lowed that the materials were not correctly middle thereof and having corner stays on used from the point of view-[of suitability its ceiling or roof portions. This corridor for the purpose, economy of weight, and structure is composed of side walls portions technical requirements as regards construca which also form inner longitudinal walls. tion and insulation. Also such known sys-. of the rooms and a ceiling or roof portion tems were in the main adapted only for small 1 which has on its under side corner stays 59 dwellings and houses for single families, so which after erection are adjoined tothe ver- I tical frame members of the wall portions of the corridor and thus form a box-structure. The outer wall portions d and ceiling portions 0 of the rooms are supported at both sides of this box-structure. As a result, the walls of the building do not require to be sup orted against lateral pressure by being ma e thick or by any complicated fittings, and can be interconnected in minimum time b interlocking the corner lugs, while anglbs employed to stay the structure against lateral pressure need be visible only in the central corridor. Even with houses of many stories the walls of the building may be quite thin, as they do not take up the entire lateral pressure with their thickness but serve merely as sup orts.

At t e outer wall by means of a single tiebolt h six registering lugs of six units may be held together by a single tension bolt, the corners of four outer wall portions and two roof or ceiling portions being connected (see Fig. 7).

In the corridor eight registering lugs of eight building units projecting into the left and the right upper corners of the corridor are held together by a single tie-bolt. The corner staying of the corridor becomes operativeon fitting the tie-bolts of superposed stories.

It is known to connect building elements b means of hinges or eyes and pins. As distlnguished from this known arrangement,

the essence of the present invention resides in the feature that not only two or three units are connected by one bolt, but, as above mentioned, there are so connected six to eight units so that the units interconnected by means of lugs fitted at the corners of six to eight units function as: links retaining other links in that on six to eight sides they are engaged with upper, lower, left, right and transversely disposed units, there being united at the outer wall six, and in the corridor eight corner lugs to constitute a horizontal hinge engaged by a single tie-bolt. On fitting this tie-bolt all the vertical joints of the units as well as the abutting joints of the ceiling portions of the rooms and corridor are automatically drawn together, and insulating material interposed between the joints in the erecting operation is also pressed into the joints of the outer walls so as to effect a tight connection. The horizontal joints are closed at the outer wall by engagement of the upper portions over the lower portions. Thus, with a single tie-bolt there are rigidly connected six to eight corners even of two stories comprising wall portions, ceiling portions, roof portions and stair portions.

The mounting operation is concentrated at the few corner points of the abutting units and is effected in the most rapid and simple manner with complete safety, permitting the production of buildings of many stories by virtue of the staying of the corners in the central corridor. With very high buildings where the corner stays of the corridor would not sufiice, the ceiling portions of the rooms may also have corner stays similar to those of the ceiling portions of the corridor. The supporting vertical units of the lower stories may comprise stronger steel frames than those of the upper stories. At at least two angles only need the steel frames of the corridor wall portions and corridor ceiling portions and room ceiling portions be stifiened.

The units having corner j oint-forming lugs are thus the Wall'portions and ceiling portions of the corridor and the outer wall portions and ceiling portions of the rooms. These units are embraced in th term main block hereinafter employed.

It is known to assemble buildings from blocks according to a given plan, of given vertical dimensions and given breadth, but not of two main blocks open at opposite sides whereby, it is rendered possible by means of a corridor cell taking up lateral pressure to assemble room cells open at both sides, from which rooms of any desired length can be constructed without angle stays being visible.

Such a main block is shown in perspective in Fig. 1 which consists of two corridor wall portion (1 a corridor ceiling portion 6 and a room ceiling portion c at each side of the corridor, and a room outer wall portion d at each side.

A half main block, Fig. 2, consists of a corridor outer wall portion a, a corridor wall portion a a corridor ceiling portion 5 and, at one side of said corridor wall portion a a room ceiling portion 0 and a room outer wall portion d As shown, a complete main block, Fig. 1, comprises a corridor cell and two room cells. A half main block, Fig. 2, comprises a corridor cell and one room cell.

Complete or half main blocks or complete and half main blocks suitably assembled in the directions of height and breadth give buildings of any desired size.

In Fig. 3 are shown at a a complete main block, at b a half main block, at c an example of a combination of complete and half main blocks, and at d the plan of this combination.

Fig. 4 shows in perspective the units of a main block before assembly, showing clearly the corner stays of the ceiling portion of the corridor which act at the same time as corner lugs and showing also the form of the corner lugs of the other portions.

At the joints of the outer walls the two outer lugs b of the room ceiling portions come to lie exteriorly of and alongside the two upper lugs a of the room wall portions. Of the upper story the two lower lugs a of the room wall portions come to lie exteriorly of the lugs b.

At the joints of the corridor the lower lugs e of the wall portions of the. corridor which project at an angle inwardly and downwardly come directly to the inside of and adjacent to the corner stays of the corridor withthe holes (1, while the inclined inwardly projecting lugs f of the room ceiling portion come within the lugs e, and the horizontal inwardly projecting upper lugs g of the corridor wall portions come within the lugs Thus, on both sides of the main blocks comprising'upper and lower stories three corner lugs come together at the outer wall while in the corridor, reckoning the joint hole cl as a corner lug, there come together four lugs. With the left and right main blocks there are at the outer wall six corner lugs which are connected by a bolt and in the corridor eight corner joints.

Fig. 5 shows diagrammatically the steel frames of the elements of the main block with the stiffening of the angles of the frames of the room ceiling portions, of the corridor ceiling portions and of the corridor wall portions. In the last mentioned the stiffening is at the top in order that there may be room for doors at the right and left.

Fig. 6 shows in perspective an upper corner of the corridor seen from below,

It will be recognized that as corner lugs there serve the corner stays of the corridor ceiling portion cl. Alongside the same is the lower lug e of the corridor wall portion; alongside the latter the inner lug f of the room ceiling portion and then the upper lug g of the corridor wall portion. In this case eight registering corner lugs are connected by one tie-bolt.

Fig. 7 shows in perspective an outer wall and the corridor of a building during erection. Three stories are alread assembled. In the dotted circle 1 are six ad acent corner lugs on the outer wall connected by one tieboltf a denotes the lugs belonging to the lower room outer wall portions, 0 the lugs belonging to the upper room outer wall portions, and b the lugs of the room ceiling portions. In the dotted circle 2 are shown the three registering lugs of the superposed main blocks which are connected by one tie-bolt with the three lugs of the main blocks adjacent thereto. In the dotted circle 3 is shown an upper corner of a main block; in the gap in front of the lugs b of the room ceiling portionrthere engages in the course of erection the lower lug c of the room outer wall portion of the next story. In the dotted circle 4 are shown the four lugs of two adjacent main blocks with the central gap for the lugs 0 of each room outer wall portion of the upper main blocks. In the dotted circle 5 are shown a smallpart of the lugs f of the room ceiling portion, and, adjacent to the same, the openings indicated at e in which in the course of erection the lugs e of the corridor wall portions engage.

The lay-out of the building depends on the number of similar main blocks disposed in a row or rows. The internal transverse division of the rooms is determined by the transverse walls which are located either at the joints of abutting main blocks or centrally of the main blocks; see Fig. 8, showing transverse walls a at the joints and transverse walls b at the middle. This subdivision is rendere possible in each case by reason that, as s i own in Fig. 8, in the outer wall portions of the rooms and in the wall J portions of the corr1d0r the windows and doors are at the left or the right or at both the left and the right, while in the middle there is left free-.a place where the transverse walls can abut. In this way the rooms can be made of any desired number of complete and half cells. Transverse walls may subsequently be fitted throughout at the joints or at the middle or shifted. In this way the dimensions of the rooms of the building can be conveniently changed at any time.

The size of the main that one room cell sufiices, an individual room, toilet, or for a standard kitchen or for a stair-case well. A stair-case well can in every case be fitted as shown in Fig. 8 in this wise that the superposed ceiling portions of room cells at one sideof the corridor are omitted for example, for

and the parts necessary to constitute the stair v introduced. The outer wall portions 0 of stair-case well are, as shown in Fig. 8, similar as regards their steel frames to the room outer wall portions, but the vertical parts of their steel. frames have, height on the inner face, supporting beams d on which the stair portions 6 and f are laid. The outer wall portions of the staircase wells have windows in the lower half. The stair portions 6 and f at the points where they rest on the corridor portionsythe said lugs being engaged with the lugs of the room ceiling portions. Thus, both stair portions are held to the corridor each by one lug.

In most cases there sufiice for a stair-case well the dimensions of one room cell; i larger stair-case wells are required, there may serve therefor any desired number of room cells in that-any desired number of room ceiling portions may be omitted and larger stair portions inserted. In this case the stair-case well outer portions must be fitted in place with a continuous beam, said beam having lugs at a point where otherwise the room ceiling portions would engage with their corner lugs.

At the point where the main blocks are not to be further assembled upwardly and laterally, the size of the building being deblock may be such or for a bath room with.

midway of their have corner lugs horizontal te'rmined the already assembled main,

blocks, see ig. 8, the room ceiling portions and corridor ceiling portions of the u permost main blocks are replaced by thic insulated room roof portions g and corridor roof portions h. The room roof portions are all alike. From the room outer wall portions of the main block they inclineslightly downwards to the corridor wall portions. The corridor roof portions incline slightly downwards from the lateral corridor outer wall portions towards the middle of the building. Several forms of corridor roof portions must be used.

In the gaps which are provided for the lugs of the room outer wall portions of the next story roof terrace rails 2' having corner lugs may be readily mounted.

At the side, non-supporting room outer wall portions 7c having lugs at their upper outer corners may be fitted, each of said wall portions It having at its outer lower corners pins engageable in recesses in the outer upper corners of a lower wall portion.

The non-supporting lateral corridor wall portion Z has fixedly attached bolts which engage the corridor corner joints and so hold said portion. At the bottom it has pins which engage the portion below. The lateral corridor wall portion is mounted in place after the lateral room outer wall portions and holds the same at their inner edges by means of left and ri ht hand projections.

.If, as shown in Fig. 8, the stair should be located at a corner of the building, the lateral outer wall portions m of the stair-case well must engage at their upper inner corner with a pin in a socket .of the adjacent stair portion, 2'. e., in Fig. 8 of the stair portion 6 in order to hold the outer wall ortions of the stair-casewell at the corner 0 the building.

Balcony portions n and terrace ortions 0 have at their lower side directe towards the building corner lugs which come alongside the six adjacent lugs of the outer wall and are fitted to the latter by means of the same tie-bolt. The corner stay on the under side of the balcony portion bears on the vertical portion of the steel frame of the outer wall portion.

Chimneys consisting'of parts in tiers ex tend upwardly along the outer wall of the building and are held in place by clamps which, like the balconies and terraces, are

fitted to corner lugs of the outer wall. I; Porches above house doors are mounted in the same way.

Fig. 9 shows diagrammatically in several constructions by way of example difierent applications of the system for the production of buildings suitable for dwellings of all kinds. There are shown dwellings of all kinds and sizes composed of complete and half main blocks; such as dwellings for sining the main blocks stepwise. If the uppermost roof surface of a building is to be used, the stairs are continued up to the roof, the half main block of the stair-case well projectin beyond the surface of the roof.

If t ere are required rooms which occupy two stories, for example, studios, workshops, spacious halls and dwellings or large factory rooms, the room ceiling portions of one story can be omitted. Then, as in the staircase wells of more than one room cell, there must be fitted along with the outer wall portions of the rooms longitudinal beams having lugs at the points which would otherwise be occupied by the lugs of the omitted ceiling portions. The length of the beam depends on the number of omitted ceiling portions. The beam must in any case have a length equal to the sum of the breadths of the omitted ceiling portions. The upper outer wall portions of these two story rooms may be composed wholly of steel and glass.

Corridorwallportionsconsistingonlyofthe steel frames thereof are used where the corridor at the ends of the building is superfluous and the corridor cells are to be used to enlarge the room cells at the left and right.

' In factories there may be used corridor cells consisting only of steel frames so as to con- .stitute rooms extending right through the building which naturally are interrupted at the points where the corridor would otherwise be located by the supports or pillars constituting the frame members thereof.

The six corner lugs of the outer wall may project inwardly and may be mounted after the manner of the corridor corner lugs in the room ceiling portion in which case the erection of the building can proceed from the inside outwards, but, in the absence of the outer. wall corner lugs, balconies, terraces, chimneys, eaves, etc., cannot be so readily fitted, and in the rooms the appearance of the upper edges of the outer walls is detracted from by the lugs.

The lugs may, however, neither project outwardly or inwardly but may be located within the thickness of the outer wall portions of the rooms and mounted in cavities which are left free at the upper ends of the outer walls of the rooms, said cavities being covered over from the inside afterwards. The said cavities may also serve to receive shutters.

Instead of having four corner lugs, the ceiling portions of the rooms may each have at the corners of the steel frame downwardly projecting pins which engage from above in vertical sockets or recesses in the outer wall portions of the rooms and wall portions of the corridor. On mounting the next story,

the ceiling portions of the rooms are held in place. In this case there is one corner lug less to be fitted in the corridor and in the outer wall.

Buildings may also be erected without the central corridor structure for resisting lateral pressure and traversing the entire building, in which case the ceiling portions "of all the rooms have corner stays; interconnection of the sections of the building bythe corner lugs is effected according to the samcsystem.

The construction of the building elements ma vary. Steel frames may be filled with cor and eternit plates, and the steel frame for the ceiling portion'may be filled with ferro-concrete and sound-insulating material. The external portions may be coveredwith sheet metalor eternit, or plastered or coated with other material for resisting the weather. The steel frames may be afterwards covered with a fire-proofing layer. The sides of the building elements forming the inner rooms may be plasteredand subsequently polished and distempered, or the side walls may each comprise a plate secured to the steel frames. The windows may be fitted directly in the steel frames along with window-sills, shutters etc., and may be arranged to be lowered after the manner of railway carriage windows. In the outer wall portions of the staircase wells they may be pushed upwardly.

There requires to be produced only one standard window which maybe, for example, of one half the breadth of the outer wall portion of a room. By assembling room outer wall portions with two windows or with one window to the left or right a row of windows.

of any desired length may be provided for the inner rooms, see Figs. 3 and 8. v The stand pipes from the roof gutters pass through the ceiling portions of the corridor at the corners for which the necessary opening is provided on erection by unscrewing an inserted cover provided for each corridor ceiling portion. Like openings may be formed in the ceiling portions for drain pipes, heating pi es and water supply pipes. The latter may e formed in the building elements so as to engage one another on erection. There may be also embedded in the building elements conduits for electric current leads, to be connected to suitable fitting in the rooms.

The provision of these features in the fabricated building elements renders it ossible to perform practically all the wor: to be done on a building at the factory so that the building may be erected on the site in minimum time. Cellar wall portions and cellar ceiling portions with extra insulation are produced according to the same system. 'With the provision, however, of store-rooms cellars may be dispensed with, in which case only foundation blocks require to be erected on the site, being spaced in conformity with the main blocks.

joints.

The frames of the building elements may also be made of ferro-concrete, wood or any other material suitable for buildings. The building units may be composed of complete cast plates of any supporting and insulating material such as ferro-concrete into which are cast plates integral with corner lugs or to V which such secured.

The frames of the outer wall portions of the rooms may be grooved along the vertical plates may be otherwise rigidly terial may be cast in position, or packing may be provided in the form of impregnated felt;

gain, an upper unit may engage a lower one with a rabbet joint. The corner lugs of the outer wall may be covered over by a cap protecting the same fromthe influences of weather. The joints within the rooms are cleaned and covered with paint. The floor joints are covered with the material forming the surface of the floor.

What I claim is 1. A fabricated building comprising assembled standardized elements constituting when erected main blocks open at two opposite sides and constructed to be adjoined to one another vertically and breadthwise, said main blocks incorporating corridor cells stayed at their upper corners and supporting the building against lateral pressure and room cells adjoined to the corridor cells, said elements comprising rectangular frames having apertured corner lugs of which a number are brought into register on assembly of a number of elements in edge to edge relation, and tie-bolts engaging registering lugs so that the interconnected elements function as links for supporting other elements.

2. A fabricated building comprising assembled standardized elements of rectangular form having apertured corner lugs, said ele ments constituting when erected main blocks open at two opposite sides and constructed to be adjoined to one another vertically and breadth-wise. said main blocks incorporating corridor cells and cells including at least one stair-case well adjoined to the corridor cells, said elements serving as vertical walls for rooms and for the corridor and as ceilings for said rooms and corridor, tie bolts engaging registering apertured lugs of elements having contiguous edges. and a beam extending longitudinally of the stair-case well and having apertured lugs adapted to register with the lugs of elements foaming walls of the building.

The two registering grooves at the 3. A fabricated building comprising assembled standardized elements constituting when erected superposed main blocks open at two opposite sides, said main blocks being arranged step-wise, each main block incorporating corridor cells stayed at their upper corners and supporting the building against lateral pressure and room cells adjoined to the corridor cells, said elements comprising rectangular frames having apertured corner lugs and constructed to be assembled edge to edge with the apertures in said lugs in register, certain of said elements constituting wall forming portions and others of said elements constituting ceiling-forming and roof forming portions, said roof-forming portions serving as terraces, and tie-bolts penetrating the apertures of registering lugs.

4. A fabricated building comprising assembled standardized elements constituting when erected complete and ha f main blocks open at two opposite sides and constructed to be adjoined to one another vertically and breadthwise, said main blocks incorporating corridor cells stayed at their upper corners and supporting the building against lateral pressure and room cells adj oined to the corridor cells, said elements comprising rectangular frames having apertured corner lugs of e which a number are brought into register on assembly of a number of said elements in edge-to-edge relation, registerin lugs.

5. A fa ricated building comprising assembled standardized elements constituting when erected main blocks open at two opposite sides and constructed to be adjoined to one another vertically and breadthwise, said main blocks incorporating corridor cells stayed at their upper corners and supportin the building against lateral pressure and room cells adjoined to the corridor cells, certain of said room cells being of a height which is a multiple of the height of a corridor cell, said elements comprising rectangular frames having apertured corner lugs of which a number are brought together on assembly of a group of vertical and horizontal elements in edge-to-edge relation, longitudinal beams having lugs connected to certain vertical eleinents, and tie-bolts engaging registering ugs.

6. A fabricated building comprising assembled standardized elements constituting when erected main blocks open at two opposite sides and constructed to be adj oined to one another vertically and breadth-wise, said main blocks incorporating corridor cells stayed at their upper corners and supporting the building against lateral pressure and room cells adjoined to the corridor cells, said elements comprising rectangular frames having apertured corner lugs of which a number are brought into register on assembly of-vertically and horizontally disposed elements in edgetoand tie-bolts engaging edge relation, certain of said vertically disposed elements having door apertures and other of said vertically disposed elements having window apertures, and tie-bolts engaging registering lugs.

7. A fabricated building comprising assembled standardized elements constituting when erected main blocks open at two opposite sides and constructed to be adjoined to one another vertically and breadth-wise, said main blocks incorporating corridor cells stayed at their upper corners and supporting the building against lateral pressure and room cells adjoined to the corridor cells, said elements comprising rectangular frames having apertured corner lugs of which a number are brought into register on assembly of a number of elements in edge to edge relation, pipe connections incorporated in certain of said elements and adapted to come into register on assembly of said elements, and tie-bolts engaging registering lugs.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

HEINRICH LA ROCHE. 

